Velveeta Calls on Guys to Be Like That Guy They Know

In order to capture the attention of guys, Kraft cheese brand Velveeta has created a video series featuring the character of “That Guy You Know” who does interesting things and eats Velveeta Shells and Cheese.

In these videos, the brand has essentially created characters to emulate – particularly when it comes to eating habits.

While the video series, “Eat Like That Guy,” is specifically for Velveeta’s Shells and Cheese line, its “Eat Liquid Gold” campaign, which is reflected in messaging on the brand’s YouTube channel and Facebook and Twitter pages, is an overall theme for all Velveeta products.

It also features a timer that counts down from eight minutes, or the time it takes to make Velveeta Shells and Cheese.

“In the eight minutes it takes to cook your Shells and Cheese, don’t wait to eat like that guy, be that guy,” the page says. Clicking “Next,” prompts the timer to start and brings up one of the “Eat Like That Guy” videos.

The Guys in the campaign include the guy that designs and plays virtual reality games and the guy that chops wood all year round.

These particular videos are shot from the guy’s perspective, so viewers see the guy eating Shells and Cheese and performing the highlighted tasks.

Ryan Shamir, senior brand manager for Velveeta, says the brand tried to create guys who were funny and entertaining. That also includes earlier iterations – such as the helicopter guy at the mall and the ham radio guy – who are also meant to entertain and engage. These latter guys are from a series of earlier-released videos called just “That Guy.” They also feature a guy eating Shells and Cheese, but are shot from a different perspective.

“At the end of the day, for these consumers, they may not be able to live like that guy, but they can eat like that guy,” Shamir says.

Velveeta added eight Eat Like That Guy videos in January because of strong results from the initial campaign, Shamir says. That Guy videos have between 3,200 and 44,000 views.

The more recent batch of Eat Like That Guy videos range from about 7,700 to 638,000 views.

When it came to marketing the Shells and Cheese line, Shamir says the brand looked at the trend of men taking on more responsibility cooking and shopping and thought the product would be a good fit for “young dudes” in their 20s and 30s. These are active guys who are trying to squeeze as much into their days as possible and who do not likely see cooking as a priority, she says.

“It was a challenge to inspire guys to cook a tiny bit,” Shamir adds.

In addition to Shells and Cheese, the Velveeta family includes products like: Cheesy Skillets, Cheesy Casseroles and Cheesy Potatoes.

Eat Liquid Gold reflects a broader brand strategy that ties in all of these products.

To promote Liquid Gold, Velveeta has created a Liquid Gold Digger Quiz on Facebook that allows users to determine if someone they know is a Liquid Gold Digger by asking questions like, “They have a deep connection with: their soul mate; their soul food?”

The Facebook page, which has 68,000 likes, also features Liquid Gold e-Cards from Someecards with messages like, “I’d like to cook you a meal that I think is better than almost any takeout within your apartment’s delivery radius.”

Marketers create personas to better understand their target audience and what it looks like. If marketers can understand potential buyer behaviors, and where they spend their time online, then content can be targeted more effectively.